Enrollment
282
New York · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 362574003534
Saranac Lake Middle School — Saranac Lake, NY
Federal NCES profile for Saranac Lake Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 55/100.
👥 Class size 64
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 72
📋 Attendance 56
How this works: Each indicator above is scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC data, then averaged into the Resource Investment Index. This measures resource allocation — staffing, programs, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes. Full methodology →
School address
District: Saranac Lake Central School District · New York
Public location data per NCES (National Center for Education Statistics) Common Core of Data. Verify the school's current address on the NCES CCD record.
Teachers (FTE)
31.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
8.9:1
vs 11.7:1 New York avg
-24% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
36.4%
vs 56.2% New York avg
-35% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Saranac Lake Middle School compares with New York and U.S. medians
The federal record — no proprietary index, no editorial formula.
PlainSchools publishes the actual federal measurements — enrollment, staffing, demographics, discipline, and finance — straight from the NCES Common Core of Data, CRDC, and F-33 surveys. No composite rating, no opinion-based score on top. You get the same raw numbers researchers and policymakers use, with benchmarks, spending context, and equity indicators computed from the same federal datasets. Full methodology linked below.
What this school's NCES data tells you
Saranac Lake Middle School reports 282 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 31.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 8.9:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 24% below the New York state mean of 11.7:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 44% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 36.4% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 35% below the New York average and 30% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 141 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 17.7% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Saranac Lake Central School District spends $29,596 per pupil district-wide, below the New York average of $29,727 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 62.6% from local sources (property taxes), 28.0% from the state, and 9.5% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 55/100 (C), calculated from 4 distinct NCES and CRDC indicators measuring resource allocation rather than academic outcomes.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Saranac Lake Middle School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against New York state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs New York | New York avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 8.9:1 | ▼ 24% | 11.7:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 36.4% | ▼ 35% | 56.2% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 282 | top 21% | — | — |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
What the federal data reveals about equity at this school
Federal measurements — not ratings — surface the resource and opportunity picture. Below are the indicators that researchers, civil-rights monitors, and funding formulas use to assess equity.
Economic need
36.4%
free-lunch eligible
— 35% below the New York average of 56.2%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
8.9:1
students per teacher
— 24% below state mean
Top 14% in New York — lower ratio than 86% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
17.7%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Between 10–20% — above the pre-pandemic baseline of ~15% nationally but within the current U.S. range.
Funding equity
$29,596
per pupil, district-wide
— below New York avg of $29,727
Above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 141 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
38
in-school suspensions + 15 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 13.5 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 18.8 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 282 Top 21% in New York — larger than 79% of 4,812 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 31.0
Students per teacher 8.9:1 -24% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 36.4% -35% vs state
NCES ID 362574003534
Student demographics
White 97.9%
African American 1.1%
Asian 0.7%
Two or More 0.4%
Largest group: White at 97.9% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 2.0
Students per counselor 141:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 17.7%
In-school suspensions 38
Out-of-school suspensions 15
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Saranac Lake Central School District, which includes Saranac Lake Middle School.
$29,596
Per student
0%
vs New York
Avg $29,727
+52%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 62.6%
State 28.0%
Federal 9.5%
Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2021-22 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 360
- Students per teacher
- 10.4:1
- Enrollment
- 291
- Students per teacher
- 10.3:1
- Enrollment
- 103
- Students per teacher
- 11.1:1
Educator & family resources
In-depth guides on understanding NCES data, school choice, and education funding.
Understanding NCES data
How CCD, CRDC and EDFacts feed every public-school number you see.
Choose a school district
Eight signals that matter more than the overall ranking number.
How schools are funded
Title I, F-33, state aid formulas and what per-pupil spending really means.
Chronic absenteeism
Why missing 10% of school matters and how it varies by district.
Magnet vs charter vs traditional
Three school types, three funding models, three sets of trade-offs.
School discipline data
What CRDC suspension and expulsion records do and don't reveal.
Frequently asked questions about Saranac Lake Middle School
How many students attend Saranac Lake Middle School?
Saranac Lake Middle School has 282 students enrolled. It is a middle school in SARANAC LAKE, NY.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Saranac Lake Middle School?
The student-teacher ratio at Saranac Lake Middle School is 8.9:1, which is 24% lower than the New York average of 11.7:1 and 44% lower than the national average of 15.9:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Saranac Lake Middle School?
36.4% of students at Saranac Lake Middle School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the New York average of 56.2%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Saranac Lake Middle School?
The largest demographic group at Saranac Lake Middle School is White at 97.9%. The school serves a diverse student body in SARANAC LAKE, NY.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Saranac Lake Middle School?
Saranac Lake Middle School has a Resource Investment Index of 55/100 (C) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.